Typical Tuesday

It's been an ordinary week so far, mostly just spending time at home with my little guy. Especially since it's been windy and rainy out most of the time. But that's okay with me because I just love playing with and snuggling him....I can't believe he's going to be 12 WEEKS OLD tomorrow. It is just flying by.
It just seems like yesterday I was snuggling with my day old baby boy.....

Can time please just stand still so I can treasure these moments?

Busy Busy Busy!

What a busy, but fun weekend! Friday Benjamin and I spent the day at our friends the Zderads house to help with their garage sale before their move. There was a pretty steady group of buyers since it was a nice day so we were busy, and they sold quite a bit! Friday night we had our friends Chris and Sharon over for dinner. They just had their first baby boy, Gavriel Zion, on Monday. He is such a cutie and sooooo little. He was only 6lb 4oz. so next to Benjamin, oh man, he seemed TINY. I got lots of snuggles with him though and had a great time talking with Sharon while the boys went to a late night showing of Clash of the Titans.

Saturday, Peter made breakfast after Benjamin woke up and we took off to hit a few garage sales of our own. There ended up not being a lot of them so we didn't get much, but it was still a nice morning. The afternoon was spent doing a bit of yardwork, working out (for me, not Peter, ha!), and sorting out Benjamin's newborn/0-3 months clothes. He pretty much doesn't fit into most of them now and it was SO SAD to have to put them away. I hope I always remember him at this stage....I guess that's what pictures are for. Anyway, Saturday night we went and had dinner at the Zderads with the Schumachers and it was a crazy time (with 8 kids) but fun to hang out.

Sunday was a great church service and then afterwards we headed to Corvallis for some cheap Chinese food, a bit of grocery shopping and a walk by the river. It was nice to get out a bit and enjoy time as a family. This evening we're just hanging out with our little guy and will probably watch a movie before heading off to sleep ourselves. All in all, a great weekend though I don't think I took 1 picture. Sorry grandparents, I'll try better next time!

It's a New Day!

So, after fighting most (ALL) of his naps yesterday...today Benjamin slept from about 9-11, 12:30-1:15, 2-4, and crashed at 7:30. HA! You'd think he was one tired boy wouldn't you? Luckily, he'll probably still sleep well tonight and we'll try to get him on his normal routine tomorrow. I must say though, after I finished all my cleaning while he was sleeping, I didn't know what to do. Today, unlike yesterday, I wanted to WAKE him up so we could play.
The irony.

Once he did wake up though, we had fun enjoying 2 new baby items! Benjamin turned 11 weeks old yesterday so we're trying out some new stuff.

The Bumbo! It won't be too long until Benjamin is sitting up on his own, so we're helping him get used to the idea. Please forgive the fact that the Bumbo chair is purple....we got a great deal at a garage sale. Besides, real mean wear purple right? Or something.

We also tried out the Johnny Jump Up. These cute little feet look like they were made for jumping......and the exercise will make sure he won't have more than a bakers dozen amount of rolls on his legs :-)

He's still leaning forward quite a bit, but he liked bouncing and spinning around. SO cute!

I figure that the location of the Johnny Jump Up has an added bonus....we'll brainwash him into being potty trained early! LOL!

Really? Can it be any cuter? I didn't think so.

One of those mornings....

Even as I sit here to type this post, I have begun to hear my angel "sing" on the monitor after only sleeping for 10 minutes. It is 1:30pm and he has slept a total of maybe an hour since I got him up at 7am (that was after waking up at 3:30am to eat, and 5:30am then 6:30am, etc, etc) On days like this my hair is in a messy ponytail (which if I'm being honest, it is in a messy ponytail most every day), I get nothing done around the house, and usually count the hours until Peter comes home. What's a tired mama to do except partake of this.....


and this.....

and yes, I had 2 pieces......don't judge me! :-)

Update: It is now 3:10pm and Benjamin has not napped more than 10 minutes. I gave him a couple colic relief tablets that calmed him for 5 minutes and now he's awake again. Lovely.

2nd Update: It is now 5:50 and he is FINALLY going to fall asleep in his swing (at least let's hope!) Peter is home and I am going to take a little break in our comfy chaise chair upstairs. Tomorrow's another day.....I'm sure Benjamin will sleep through most of it :-)

My Friend Floppy

Dear Floppy,

Of all the stuffed animals I've known in my almost 11 weeks of life, the one I love the most is you, my Floppy. We've become quite the pals!

I think we get along so well because we're so similar. We lounge the same way (see the pic), we're both soft and cuddly, we're cute as can be and we both have slightly big ears......though yours Floppy are definitely bigger!!

Everyday we spend so much time together. We swing together, ride in the car together, stroll Wal-Mart together, nap together, and play together....which consists of me gnawing on your ears and flailing you around. But you don't seem to mind too much!!

Floppy, we've only just begun our friendship. I have a feeling we're going to be best buds for years! We'll have to stick together to gang up on mama, console each other when we get in trouble, help each other sleep through bad dreams, sneak each other food, play crazy games with each other.....and just be best friends for life! I love you Floppy!

Love, Benjamin

Daddy Love

Nothing makes me smile like a sweet tired baby that is SO loved by his daddy

Weekend Recap

This weekend was kind of a mixed bag. Mostly because I spent all of Friday and part of Saturday feeling pretty sick. I must have had a bit of a virus because I had a fever of 101, achy neck, etc but by Sunday morning I was feeling better. So Friday night we watched Snowball Express

It's an older Disney movie that a friend from church let us borrow and overall it was okay. We also watched the original version of Yours, Mine and Ours with Lucille Ball which was cute.

We also made a trip to Costco for a couple items and we split a hot dog and nonfat yogurt. We purchased some more bushes for our front yard (to replace the ones we killed last year) and Peter planted them while I took Benjamin for a walk. I'll try to remember to take some pictures. The weather was beautiful!

Sunday we had a church potluck for a Servants Meeting and it went really well. We went for a long walk afterwards because it was so nice out. The Oregon National Guard was driving through town that evening after coming back from their deployment so we went to honor them as they drove by and then came back home to watch Saving Private Ryan. That's a powerful movie! All in all, a great weekend though I didn't take any pictures, sorry...must have been the fever!

Nothing on TV?

Do you ever find that despite all the channels, there's NOTHING worth watching on tv? We often find that's the case, and found the perfect solution!!!

BENJAVISION :-)
My techy husband took our baby video monitor and hooked it up to our TV....awesome!
No more, "what are we going to watch tonight" dilemmas at our house. We sit on the couch and watch our little guy chew his hand, play with his Floppy, flail his arms....endless entertainment!

Eventually, he settles himself (without a paci, woohoo!) and we stare in AWE and LOVE at the precious gift God has entrusted us with.

Happy Birthday Grandfather

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDFATHER!!!!!

Can you read my shirt? I'm already Grandpa's Right Hand Man! I know we're going to have so many adventures together. I can't wait to go fishing and camping with you, go to baseball games, and learn to love oldies music from you.

You're determined to make me a Notre Dame fan and sent me this awesome hat!

I sure make a cute Lil' Irish boy don't you think?

Is it football season yet Grandfather? I'm ready to watch the game!

Look how much my Grandfather spoils me? I get more mail than my mama now!!

I love playing with the cool horse you gave me too!

This is how I feel about the fact that I can't be with you on your birthday :-(

But mama says we'll come visit again real soon!
I love you so much Grandfather and can't wait to see you again, Happy Birthday :-)

Tax Day!

It's been a typical day in Ben and my world....complete with naps (for Ben), eating (for both), walks in the beautiful sunshine, running errands to the bank, post office and Wal-Mart and lots and lots of playtime. We have a little setup of toys, books, and Floppy the dog on a blanket in our living room and nothing beats spending an hour just cooing and loving on my little guy. He's starting to laugh which is adorable and he smiles so much. It melts a mama's heart!


Happy April 15th from our little tax deduction :-)

Fun at the Zoo!

What a fun day we had! This morning we headed off with some mommy friends of ours and their kiddos to....the Oregon Zoo!!It was supposed to rain off and on, but it ended up being such a beautiful sunny day and it was sooo nice to be outside enjoying it. Walking into the park, I felt kind of giddy because it was my first real "mommy outing." I had my lunch packed, my stroller, my backpack of diapers and an extra paci....I was just really loving the joy being a mom gives me.

I had never been to the Portland Zoo before and it was really nice. They had a new lion exhibit, a baby elephant and his mama, the penguins are always fun, and of course this April "Apey long arms" Klingler loves the apes!

As expected Benjamin enjoyed the back of his eyelids for a good portion of the zoo, but when he was awake he was just soaking in all of the kids going from exhibit to exhibit, and he loved the sunshine. Considering he was in a carseat or stroller for a good portion of the day, he was such a good baby. And we only had one minor diaper blowout, woohoo :-)
My friends have such sweet kids that I know Benjamin will love playing with as he gets a bit older, they are all too cute. And I'm so thankful to be friends with all of their moms!

Lincoln, Haddie, Isaiah, Payden, Elijah

Isaiah and Christina

Micah and Kristen

Ania and Cindi

Cutie pie Micah

Payden and Heather

I am one tired mama tonight (there are ALOT of hills in the zoo) but I can't wait to take Benjamin to the zoo again. I love that I'll get to be there to watch him grow and learn and have many more "mommy outings" with him. What a lucky mama I am!

2 Months!

I can hardly believe my little Benjamin is already 2 months old. I'm a little late in posting this because well, I started my blog yesterday and he was 2 months on April 3rd, but here are his 2 month stats.

Height - 24 inches

Weight - 12lbs 9oz (totally surprised his mama who thought he'd be around 11lbs 7oz!)

At my 2 month dr. appt (which fell during my nap time, good planning mama)

I wasn't too happy to discover that all those check marks on the page meant SHOTS! I cried a little bit when I got poked but was mostly mad that they woke me up from my nap.

mmm, do these band-aids make my legs look chunky??

Likes - You love your swing, hanging out on your changing table making faces at mama and daddy, tummy time, going for walks, your paci. You're starting to notice your dog Floppy more and more which makes your daddy (a dog lover) so happy! You love your bath time as long as you stay warm, even though you don't look thrilled in the pic below.


Dislikes - Diaper changes at night, having to wait more than 5 minutes to eat (wonder who he got that from?), getting into your car seat but then you're okay once you're in, having to put your arms through your clothes

Eating - You're drinking about 5 ounces of milk every 3-4 hours, and have 6 ounces right before mommy and daddy go to sleep for the night

Sleeping - You're usually ready for bed about 8:00pm and sleep until 10:30 when mommy and daddy get you up for one more feeding. You've started sleeping until about 3:00am before you whimper a bit and we give you your paci then you sleep until about 5am. You eat, then sleep until sometime between 7:30 and 8:00. Sometimes you're up a bit more during the night but you're learning and the extra sleep is much appreciated! You take good naps during the day, we're working on them being in your crib when we're home and you're quickly catching on. You're a bit of a light sleeper like your mama so we swaddle you up to keep your crazy arms from flailing.

Personality - You are smiling up a storm at your mama and daddy and we LOVE it. We often fight over who gets to have playtime with you because you're so cute. You're sooo alert and love to stare at lights and bright pictures in books. You have amazing neck support for your age and really strong legs. You act like you're DYING when you decide you're hungry but we think it's cute (most of the time). We're not sure yet whether you're going to have your mama's temper or your daddy's laid back nature, only time will tell.

Highlights - This month you went on your first airplane trip with mommy. You did EXCELLENT and traveled so well. We went back to Idaho to visit all your aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas. I must say you completely loved all the attention and I think they kinda like you too! You did so great on the 7 1/2 hour drive home so we're hoping you'll be a great traveler overall which is good because I think Auntie Amanda insists we come back to visit very often (which is okay with you because you gave her huge smiles all weekend!)


Benjamin Daniel, your mommy and daddy love you soooo much. You bring so much joy to our lives and we are so grateful God gave you to us. We pray for you everyday, so much enjoy watching you grow and learn, and could spend all day kissing your precious cheeks!